Teach Soap

So I got my first few lab colors and am dying to use them. But I'm very confused. I bought the 10ml of Eucalyptus High Ph Mist for cold processed soap. Do I mix the whole bottle with water? How much water? I've noticed that the tips and FAQ's bounce between volume and weight measurements which is also confusing. Teaspoons, ounces, milliliters? If I substitute a portion of the water from the lye/water mix, do I add the lye to the water/diluted dye water? Or do I mix the lye with less water and add that to the oils, then add the diluted dye water? I just want to make a batch of green soap. Also, I need to heat the water before adding the dye, right? Help!

I would ask Anne-Marie. I don't dilute mine, so I don't have to use extra preservative.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I dilute mine with warm water, so it mixes well. Then I store it in the fridge. I use anywhere from a few drops to a couple of dropper fulls of the diluted color per 5lb batch, depending on the color I want. I use about a cup of warm water; I boil the water on the stove, then pull it off the stove and add the labcolor, then i put it in a sterilized glass jar and store in the fridge. It seems to last longer when I do it this way vs using it undiluted. I have been using lab colors for about a year now and LOVE them. Just takes a little trial and error at first, but you will get the hang of it. Here are some pics of some soaps I have made using labcolors, I love how vibrant they are.
http://www.fortheloveofsuds.com/temp/colors.html

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Handmade Soaps
http://www.ForTheLoveOfSuds.com

Since you are adding water soapysue, shouldn't you add a small amount of a preservative as well? Most things that have water will grow germs pretty quickly, even in the refrigerator.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I do not add preservative, according to what I read from the instructions, if you keep in the fridge you don't need a preservative. I suppose if you left it in the fridge for a long period of time (months to year) you could have a problem, but I use mine up pretty quickly.

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Handmade Soaps
http://www.ForTheLoveOfSuds.com

Wouldn't the lye kill any germs?

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

SoapySue,

I read that Labcolors can bleed. How do your embeds hold up in the soap over time?

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I have not had a problem with them bleeding at all. I think the bleeding is when the colors are mixed in the same batch. I make my embeds in separate containers and let them sit for about a week before embedding them in the new soap.

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Handmade Soaps
http://www.ForTheLoveOfSuds.com

My CP embeds don't bleed. They do if I use the colors in MP. For MP, I prefer micas.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

My embeds bled when using lab colors. My lab color swirls have also bled into one another. I only use them for a single color soap now and use other colorants for swirls.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

There are really good diluting instructions with pictures here;

We recommend diluting and adding a preservative. If you really do not want to add a preservative then keep them in the fridge for a maximum amount of 3 months.